"The Prime Minister's first, foolish thought was that Rufus Scrimgeour looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of grey in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows, he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp. There was an immediate impression of shrewdness and toughness; the Prime Minister thought he understood why the wizarding community preferred Scrimgeour to Fudge in these dangerous times."

Minister Rufus Scrimgeour (d. 1 August, 1997) originally joined the Ministry of Magic as an Auror, where he became a hardened veteran, spending most of his life fighting Dark Wizards. Eventually he rose to become Head of the Auror Office. During the Second Wizarding War, Scrimgeour was appointed to succeed Cornelius Fudge as Minister for Magic. While he appeared to provide a much tougher and resolute stance against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, he made the same mistake of creating the appearance of safety and security, while in truth Scrimgeour's efforts were waning in progress in the war. This policy ultimately cost Scrimgeour his life, as it left the Ministry open to infiltration by the Death Eaters, who used several high-ranking Ministry officials, all of whom had been subverted to their control, to launch a successful coup and bring the Ministry under Voldemort's control. Voldemort, wanting the location of Harry Potter, captured and brutally tortured Scrimgeour, though when Scrimgeour refused to talk, Voldemort killed him.

Minister for Magic

"These are dark times, there is no denying. Our world has, perhaps, faced no greater threat than it does today. But I say this to our citizenry: we, ever your servants, will continue to defend your liberty and repel the forces that seek to take it from you! Your Ministry… remains… strong!"

Rufus Scrimgeour: "Some would say it's your duty to be used by the Ministry!"

Harry Potter: "Yeah, and others might say it's your duty to check people really are Death Eaters before you chuck them in prison. You're doing what Barty Crouch did. You never get it right, you people, do you? Either we've got Fudge, pretending everything's lovely while people get murdered right under his nose, or we've got you, chucking the wrong people into jail and trying to pretend you've got the Chosen One working for you!"

Scrimgeour, though seemingly more capable than Fudge, decided to prioritise appearances over truth in his battle against Voldemort. Apparently, Scrimgeour distrusted Albus Dumbledore in a similar way to Fudge before him, as he assigned AurorJohn Dawlish to follow Dumbledore during his frequent departures from Hogwarts, resulting in the Auror being jinxed by Dumbledore.[13] He ordered the arrest of Stan Shunpike, a conductor on the Knight Bus, to give the impression that the Ministry was actively seeking and arresting Death Eaters, even though it was apparent to Harry that Shunpike was innocent and merely foolish.[14]

On Christmas Day1996, which Harry spent at The Burrow in Devon, Scrimgeour came to visit him, accompanied by Percy Weasley, whom he used as a pretext. Scrimgeour took Harry for a walk around the garden, during which he tried to get answers out of Harry about what Dumbledore is doing, and suggests that the Ministry would be grateful if Harry was to visibly align himself with them. Harry, revolted by the Ministry's hypocrisy, refuses further assistance, saying that the new Ministry is as bad in its own way as the old one was.[12]

After Dumbledore's death atop the Astronomy Tower, in the summer of 1997, Scrimgeour and a delegation of Ministry officials came for a short stay at Hogwarts Castle, so that they could attend Dumbledore's funeral. Scrimgeour was seated in the front row, with Minerva McGonagall, looking "grave and dignified". After the service, Scrimgeour once more tried to convince Harry Potter to openly support the Ministry's endeavours, and Harry once again refused.[15]

Scrimgeour appeared to have aged considerably as a result of working to retain control of the wizarding community, which was in a state of open warfare. He had delayed releasing Dumbledore's personal bequests for thirty-one days, under the Decree for Justifiable Confiscation, in order to inspect the items. Scrimgeour bombarded the trio with questions, attempting to discern Dumbledore's intentions, and was highly suspicious of the gifts he had left them: the Deluminator for Ron, a Golden Snitch for Harry, and an original copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard for Hermione. Scrimgeour refused to give Harry Dumbledore's final bequest, Godric Gryffindor's Sword, believing it to be an historical artefact and public property, which Dumbledore therefore had no right to dispose of as he saw fit.[5]

When Harry criticised Scrimgeour for wasting his time scrutinising Dumbledore's things, and for covering up the recent escape of dozens of Death Eaters from Azkaban, the two came close to a duel, in spite of Scrimgeour's claim that he in fact sought to work together, in order to fight Voldemort. The arrival of Arthur and Molly Weasley forced Scrimgeour to regain composure and then depart.[5] Scrimgeour correctly guessed that there might be something hidden inside the Golden Snitch, although he never found out what, as Dumbledore had ensured that the Snitch would only open "at the close".

The following day, 1 August, 1997, the Death Eaters staged a successful coup on the Ministry, as they now had agents loyal to them surrounding the Minister, and as such were able to make a successful attempt on his life.[1]Pius Thicknesse, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and several other high-ranking Ministry officials had all been placed under the Imperius Curse.[16] Scrimgeour was captured and brutally tortured by Voldemort for information on Harry's whereabouts, but Scrimgeour, having "put up quite a fight" in his final moments, refused to talk despite knowing where he was. The official line to Scrimgeour's murder was that he resigned, and Thicknesse was appointed as a puppet Minister.[17]

Harry, Ron, and Hermione came to respect Scrimgeour after learning of his sacrifice. It is assumed that after Lord Voldemort's defeat Scrimgeour's assassination was exposed, but the subject is unclear.[17]

Physical appearance

Scrimgeour.

Scrimgeour was a man with a certain rangy loping grace; he walked with a slight limp, and looked rather like an old lion with grey streaks in his mane of tawny hair and bushy eyebrows. He had keen yellowish eyes and wore wire-rimmed spectacles.[3] He sometimes used a walking stick.[15] With time, the stresses of the failing conflict reached him, and when last seen he appeared badly-shaven, scraggy, and grim.[1]

Personality and traits

Rufus Scrimgeour: "Remembered you're not at school, have you? Remembered that I am not Dumbledore, who forgave your insolence and insubordination? You may wear that scar like a crown, Potter, but it is not up to a seventeen-year-old boy to tell me how to do my job! It's time you learned some respect!"

Scrimgeour was, according to Dumbledore, a "man of action", having fought against Dark Wizards throughout his career as an Auror and climbed ambitiously through the Ministry.[18] He gave an impression of shrewd toughness and was more decisive and forceful than his predecessor, Cornelius Fudge.[3] Scrimgeour did not underestimate Voldemort[18] and cared a great deal about the Ministry's reputation, though at the expense of justice; he even allowed the arrest of innocent people - such as Stanley Shunpike - to give the impression that the Ministry was doing something, not unlike Bartemius Crouch Sr..[12] He tried unsuccessfully at various times to convince Harry to work for the Ministry as a "mascot" to improve morale: once during the Christmas holidays,[12] and another time after Dumbledore's funeral.[15] Like Snape, he thought of Harry as arrogant and conceited, and disliked him for it.[5] In the end however, Scrimgeour proved his bravery and strength of character when he refused, under torture, to tell Voldemort of Harry's whereabouts.[1]

Magical abilities and skills

Duelling: Rufus Scrimgeour fought many Dark Wizards during his career as an Auror which displayed his considerable duelling abilities.[18] Scrimgeour was also noted to have put up a valiant fight against Lord Voldemort,[17] though it is unknown if this meant duelling prowess or resilience to torture, although it is likely both.

Etymology

Rufus is a Latin name meaning "red". It was a Roman cognomen as well as the nickname of King William II of England, who had the reputation for being an effective soldier but a ruthless and unpopular ruler. Scrimgeour is a Scottish surname that is believed to probably mean "skirmish", from the French escrimeur, meaning "swordsman".[19]

Although it is likely Scrimgeour was raised in Scotland, Nighy played the character with a Welsh accent.

In the film, Scrimgeour does not sport a mane-like beard, and he doesn't seem to be as tough and ruthless as he is in the book.

Due to his being cut in Half-Blood Prince, Scrimgeour's relationship with Dumbledore is not mentioned in the film, and Harry's relationship with him is less antagonistic.

Luna Lovegood once mentioned to Harry Potter that Scrimgeour was a vampire, a story her father was supposed to publish in the magazine The Quibbler. The authenticity of this claim is quite questionable, as The Quibbler has a reputation for publishing unlikely and outrageous stories. Interestingly, Bill Nighy also played Viktor, a vampire in the Underworld series.

↑In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 29 (Careers Advice), Minerva McGonagall establishes that Aurors require a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s, and nothing under 'Exceeds Expectations' in order to be elegible for training to join the Auror Office.